Bollywood film about Hitler puts Indian fascination with Nazis to test

WHEN word spread that Bollywood planned a movie called Dear Friend Hitler, screenwriter Nalin Singh was genuinely shocked it stirred even a small controversy.

The media expressed disdain, Jewish groups were horrified and his lead actor – though a bit baffled by the reaction – quit.

While such a response would seem, if anything, understated in much of the world, Singh had reason to believe his film would not generate even a ripple of scandal.

In India, Hitler is not viewed as the personification of evil, but with an attitude of morally ambiguous fascination. He is seen as a management guru – akin to Machiavelli or Sun Tzu – by business students, and an object of wonder by people craving order amid the chaos of India....